In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,276,935 and 5,373,599, commonly owned by the assignee of this invention, a medicament containing dental brush is described which releases medicament during brushing and brush fiber penetration of the gum line. The use of such a dental brush, preferably with a rotary toothbrush, provides an effective means for treating, for example, periodontal disease.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,315,741, a toothbrush is described which has a fluid reservoir in its handle for delivering a fluid to a non-rotating working implement. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,933, a dental tool with liquid dispensing from a cartridge loaded into a handle is shown. U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,146 also shows a dental tool using a handle mounted cartridge. U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,590 describes a toothbrush that uses vibration for effecting fluid delivery to a brush.
Virtually all of these fluid delivery systems are of special construction, as substantial modification of the dental handle is required in each instance to accommodate a fluid reservoir and an integral fluid path. This complicates the construction and cost of such a toothbrush.
Additionally, cross-contamination is a potential problem, even where cartridges are used, because the fluid delivery path retains fluid between uses. In many instances, mixing is undesirable, and there is a concern as to sterility with fluid retained in a handle that has a mechanically useful life of many years.